Patients and other persons restricted to bed for extended periods incur the risk of forming decubitus ulcers. Decubitus ulcers (commonly known as bed sores, pressure sores, pressure ulcers, etc.) can be formed when blood supplying the capillaries below the skin tissue is interrupted due to external pressure against the skin. This pressure can be greater than the internal blood pressure within a capillary, and thus occlude the capillary and prevent oxygen and nutrients from reaching the area of the skin in which the pressure is exerted. Moreover, moisture and heat on and around the person can exacerbate ulcers by causing skin maceration, among other associated problems.
We wish to be able to manage larger quantities of body fluids including sweat, urine, wound fluids, etc., by improving the moisture management efficiency of a patient support cover sheet system such as Skin IQ™ product (which incorporates an electrically-powered fan to move air within an open layer beneath the patient) manufactured by Kinetic Concepts Inc. of San Antonio, Tex.
In a hospital environment, if a patient urinates on a cover, this has to be firstly detected by the caregiver, and the mattress cover changed. User experience with the Skin IQ™ patient support cover sheet indicates that an occasional urine leak can and will be managed via evaporation through the Skin IQ™ cover; however, if a significant quantity of fluid is involved, the patient is exposed to moisture for an extended duration during which there is increased risk of skin breakdown, where the duration of the moisture exposure depends upon the evaporation rate through the cover sheet system. By improving the fluid management efficiency of the cover sheet system, we not only reduce this skin breakdown risk and make it a product attribute, but we can also render the system more electrically efficient by maximizing the surface area which is exposed to airflow and moisture dissipation.